After nine years of waiting, character model
updates are finally going to be more than just a dream. Shown to us for
the first time at BlizzCon 2013, these great looking character models will
be hitting our games in the new Warlords of Draenor expansion pack. As one
of the most demanded game features in World of Warcraft history, most
players are overall pretty pleased. With all that being said, there is
always bad with the good and this is no exception. Despite the seemingly
universal demand for update, the new character models have managed to
cause quite the controversy.

The Character Model Dilemma

As noted above, Warlords of Draenor will
premier new character models for our beloved toons. It seems that everyone
agrees that these new models look nothing short of exquisite and will be a
definite improvement to the game. This is where things go downhill. You
see, while everyone is pretty pleased with how awesome the new character
models have the potential to be, they aren't so sure they will be happy
with how it affects their toons.

Players are so unsure of these new character
models that they feel that Blizzard owes us a free appearance change for
each character, just in case. While many will roll their eyes, this isn't
an unreasonable request when you really think about it. For example, if
you are like me, you spent quite a fair bit of time crafting your toon.
Hair color, skin color, tusks, whatever the option, you carefully analyzed
it and made the perfect choice for that particular character and only
finished when it was absolutely flawless.

In some players eyes, these new character
models have the potential to take their impeccably crafted toons and turn
them into something they don't even recognize anymore. They fear that the
features they so carefully and painstakingly chose will be totally
different. These are valid fears, players love their characters and to see
them change can be a scary thing.

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No Appearance Change Needed

Players with these types of worries have asked
Blizzard to offer us up a free appearance change for every character with
the release of Warlords of Draenor. Thus far, Blizzard has refused the
offer and the forums are abuzz with players who think they are being a
little more than unfair. How hard can offering up free appearance change
be anyway?

My guess would be that giving us all a free
appearance change would be pretty simple, especially for seasoned veterans
like Blizzard. So why this denial of something that seems so logical?
While money (they are a business after all) may play a factor, from what
we learned at BlizzCon, there may be another reason entirely. You see,
according to Blizzard, these character models won't be changing much at
all.

Better Character Models, Not Different

While almost everyone has heard about the
transition to new character models in the Warlords of Draenor expansion
introduced to us at BlizzCon 2013, many have managed to miss or overlook
the information following. In almost every instance where the new
character models were discussed, the Blizzard developers were quick to
point out that this is just an upgrade to the already existing characters.
Nothing about your character is actually changing, it is just getting
better.

This means that all the features you picked on
your characters will still be there. Your Troll will still have the same
tusks and your Dwarf will still have the same beard, they will just look
better and more detailed than they ever have before.The way I understand
it, all these tiny delicious details were already there, we just couldn't
see them. Blizzard is not reinventing the wheel, just making it look
prettier. This is the reason that, thus far, Blizzard has offered up a
resounding no to free appearance changes; they simply don't think you will
need them.

Final Thoughts

In this writer's personal opinion, free
appearance changes are not necessary. If what Blizzard tells us is true,
our characters won't be different, so much as improved. All the features
we chose will simply look better, not different. Sure, there may be some
cases that we look at these features and realize they weren't what we
expected, especially since they will be in more vivid detail. However, I
feel like most of us will find ourselves still enamored with our
characters and pleased with the improvements to them.

Of course, I could be totally wrong, however,
I am willing to think positive till that point. Until we see the new
character models in action, I refuse to panic. With that being said, if my
beloved character looks anything less than his awesome self, I will be the
first to jump on the free appearance change bandwagon.

What do you think of the new character models?
Do you think the change is extreme enough to warrant a free appearance
change? Share your thoughts with us in the comment section below!

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About The Author

Amunet, also fondly known as Memtron, is an organic life form best known for its ongoing obsession with Blizzard Entertainment's numerous properties. To that end, Amu has authored hundreds (thousands?) of the most popular World of Warcraft guides, editorials, and Top 10 lists on the planet. When not gaming and writing, Amu is busy chasing after her three children in a perpetual loop of ongoing disaster.